A variety of different consumer products are packaged and shipped within cartons, such as paper board cartons. For example, paper board cartons are particularly prevalent for shipping consumer goods in the pharmaceutical, health care and cosmetic industries. Such paper board cartons are generally rectangular in shape and include four side walls and a plurality of end flaps at each end for closing and sealing the carton with the product load therein.
When packaging such goods in cartons, a cartoning apparatus or cartoner is utilized which handles a variety of different packaging tasks. For example, a cartoner usually conveys individual product loads, such as aspirin bottles, adjacent to erected, open product cartons. A variety of different cartoner mechanisms insure that the end flaps of the erected product cartons are open so that the product loads may be inserted therein. The cartoner also usually includes a product loading mechanism which engages the individual product loads and pushes, drops or otherwise presents the product loads into the open cartons. Next, the cartoner closes and seals the end flaps of the carton to seal the product carton and present a complete product ready for shipping.
There are several ways in which a product carton might be closed and sealed. One way is to tuck a portion of an end flap into the end of the carton. Another technique utilized to seal a carton is to glue one of the end flaps to an overlapping end flap, such as with a hot melt adhesive glue. Additional end flaps, such as carton dust flaps lie beneath the sealed end flaps and are closed prior to sealing the cartons. In some currently available cartoners, the product cartons are sealed either exclusively by gluing or exclusively by tucking. Therefore, if a manufacturing or packaging facility desires to utilize cartons which are sealed by gluing for some products and cartons which are sealed by tucking for other products, the facility would usually need to purchase and maintain two separate cartoners. As may be appreciated, two separate cartoners are expensive to purchase and maintain and require valuable factory floor space even though only one of the cartoners might be operating at any given time. However, multiple cartoners may be necessary in order for a facility to handle a variety of packaging tasks.
Cartoners are available which provide both gluing and tucking to seal cartons depending upon the cartoner mode of operation that is chosen. However, such cartoners include permanent mechanisms for both tucking and gluing which are strung out along the length of the cartoner, and therefore, along the production line. These cartoners thus have an extended machine footprint utilizing valuable factory floor space.
One alternative to multiple cartoners has been to convert an existing cartoner which glues end flaps to seal a carton to one which tucks end flaps to seal the carton, or vice versa. However, such conversions have traditionally been permanent conversions and are time consuming and expensive, because an intricate section of the cartoner must be overhauled and retrofitted in order to accommodate the different carton-sealing techniques. In effect the cartoner is rebuilt in the new application. Furthermore, conversions result in an inefficient packaging line, as the line will remain inoperable during the long conversion period, thereby reducing the cost effectiveness of the cartoner.
Accordingly, there is a need for a cartoner which is capable of efficiently sealing a loaded product carton selectively by gluing and tucking with minimal change over time and expense.